Track Of The Day: Barrie – ‘Michigan’

Brooklyn-based multi-national band Barrie met through a mutual friend at a community-run radio station, and recruited bassist Sabine through a Tinder profile set up to track down a suitable candidate. Now, having just announced their debut EP and following the luscious sound of ‘Tal Uno’, they’re back with a brand new single.

Taken from the upcoming EP, ‘Michigan’ is a truly uplifting slice of sweeping psych-pop. With perhaps “more traditional rock-band style instrumentation” than previous singles, it flows with an infectious, funk-filled groove as sparkling hooks and smooth, sultry vocals soar throughout, creating a simply dreamy offering that demands multiple listens.

Singles, the upcoming debut EP from Barrie, is out 12th October on 12″ vinyl and digital via Winspear.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Track Of The Day: Majken – ‘This War Belongs To You’

With her gentle voice and “sad but sloppy” guitar playing, Majken is fast becoming a Get In Her Ears favourite. The Swedish songwriter has released her latest single ‘This War Belongs To You’ – another low-fi gem written in the same vein as it’s predecessor, ‘Lovely Daughter’.

Speaking of the new track, Majken explains: “The song is about self-preservation. The tension that is built up over the first two minutes bursts as the synths come in like a wall of tears. I was very young when I wrote this song, but my chest still gets heavy whenever I perform it.”

Majken has been writing songs since the age of fourteen, dealing with themes such as adolescent insecurity, desires of the heart, and her own mental health. Her musical insight in to these issues is sure to make her debut album (scheduled for release this Autumn via Kollektivet Records) a heart-wrenching, but valuable listening experience.

Listen to ‘This War Belongs To You’ below and follow Majken on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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EP: Gravey – ‘Who’s Yer Daddy?’

South London band Gravey’s debut EP Who’s Yer Daddy, is all gravy, baby. I know that sounds cheap, but I had to and it is. This is a band that know their way around how a song should be, with tight bass openings and gravelled vocals that puts all forebears to shame.

Delicious guitar licks put an extra finesse on three tracks that may very well be one of indie London’s sounds of the future. As broad a spectrum as that is, Gravey slides (un)comfortably into the category of the impossible to define. The vocals roar, the guitar soars, and the layers of music meld as they should.

Each listen is better than the last, and band members Soraya Fernandez, Nick White, Sian Bride and Andrea Adriano have done wonders turning their self-proclaimed slutpunk into punk rock with soul. Adriano and White are also responsible for the incredibly neat production.

Every track on the EP has a different message, with the lyrical standout Community Health taking on the mental health crisis with the ever-true statement: “It’s another class war.” On the other hand, ‘Enlighten Me’ is an intergalactic love song (isn’t love intergalactic in and of itself?) and opening banger ‘Self Esteem’ is about loving yourself.

I’m still working on that personally, but what I can say for sure is I love this EP. The esteem can come later, hopefully dripping with that smooth marriage of wah-wah whammy guitar, bass, drums, and steaming hot vocals like that of Gravey… Baby.

 

Who’s Yer Daddy is out now. Stream it on Spotify and buy on Bandcamp.

Em Burfitt
@fenderqueer

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Track Of The Day: Evvol – ‘Song For The Broken Hearted (Rollin)’

If you’re looking for “bright pop songs” with a “darker tone underneath the surface” – Evvol are the band you’re looking for. Comprised of Julie Chance and Jane Arnison, the Berlin-based duo take their exasperation at the state of the world and turn it in to well-crafted electronic melodies.

‘Song For The Broken Hearted (Rollin)’ is one of four tracks that were written to playfully address the serious dilemmas of contemporary life, and the band’s sheer resentment for the residual status quo. The other three songs – ‘Release Me’, ‘Oceania’ and ‘New Old’ – are equally as bitter sweet as this new offering. Speaking of the collection of songs, the band have said: “These songs were written looking inwardly at how we cope when faced with challenges. They’re about escaping into hedonism and really just running from the mad, fucked up world we live in.”

At the end of 2016, the pair worked on an experimental piece commissioned for Berlin’s Pop-Kultur Festival, performing an immersive sound and visual performance and installation called ‘Human Resonance’. If their video for ‘Song For The Broken Hearted (Rollin)’ is anything to go by, it must have been a sublime artistic experience. Watch the visuals for the new track below and follow Evvol on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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